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NASB | James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God" [for temptation does not originate from God, but from our own flaws]; for God cannot be tempted by [what is] evil, and He Himself tempts no one. |
Bible Question (short): Can God really be tempted? |
Question (full): Can God in fact be tempted? If translated correctly by modern English Bibles, this verse would say that it is impossible for God to be tempted. But then we have passages like Mt 4.1 ff. (temptations in wilderness) and Heb. 4.15 that tell us that Jesus was in fact tempted. If Jesus is God in the flesh (and yes, I am convinced of the deity of Jesus), how are we to understand this verse? Do the modern English versions (which all seem to basically agree on the reading of the text) translate this verse well? I have had someone recently suggest that the verse would be better translated as "God ought not to be tempted." I do not know Greek well enough to deal with the translation issues, so if anyone can shed some light on that, I would appreciate it. Also, I think I have an answer for how these verses can all be reconciled using the modern English readings, but I would very much like to hear from others on how they understand this verse first. So if anyone would be willing to share how you interpret (understand) this verse, especially in comparison to Mt 4.1 and Heb. 4.15, I would greatly appreciate it! |